A Deceptive Wager

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  After a moment, she stood up. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to see if something good might come from our marriage, but I’m not ready to return to your townhouse. I need time to make sure you’re being sincere.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “And I won’t have a chaperone or change what I wear because you don’t like my gowns.”

  “I will permanently relieve Miss Britcher of her duties, and you may wear any gown you wish.”

  She nodded. “In return, I’ll relieve Mr. Stonewall of his duties.”

  She thought she detected relief on his face but couldn’t be sure if it stemmed from the fact that she was willing to give their marriage another chance or if he was glad Michael wasn’t going to be watching over him all the time anymore. Well, either way, it didn’t matter. They were going to have a new start, and that was good enough.

  After a moment, she asked, “What do we do now?”

  “Since we’re at a ball, we could dance. I don’t make it a habit of dancing much, but I know all the steps.”

  “I don’t make it a habit of dancing, either. I prefer to talk to my friends and watch others dance. But,” she shrugged, “a couple of dances might be nice.” Especially since her brother wouldn’t be pushing her at every available gentleman he could find. “When we’re not dancing, do you mind if I speak with Emilia?”

  “No, I don’t mind. I know a couple of gentlemen here that I’d like to talk to.”

  She released her breath, unaware she’d been holding it. She walked up to him. Unsure of what to do, she hesitated.

  He seemed to have the same uncertainty that she did, for he paused before he extended his arm to her. “May I escort you inside?”

  “Yes, you may,” she replied then went with him back to the ball.

  ***

  “I don’t understand why you didn’t go back to Aaron’s townhouse last night after the ball,” Emilia said the next morning after they had eaten breakfast.

  Kitty glanced over at her friend from where she sat in the drawing room. Emilia was working on embroidery next to her.

  “It’s too soon to go back to his townhouse,” Kitty replied. “I need more time to see if things will be different.”

  Emilia considered her words. “I understand. You’ve been through a lot. It’s probably best to go slowly. You want to be sure he means what he said.”

  Kitty nodded. Yes, she and Aaron had enjoyed dancing, but they didn’t get more than a few exchanges of pleasantries in during the entire ball. Which had been fine with her. She hadn’t known what to say to him.

  “Will you see him today?” Emilia asked.

  “He mentioned something about going for a walk at Hyde Park.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about being alone with him. Well, it wasn’t like she would be all alone. She wasn’t going to be. But there would be no one else to talk to. “Do you and Benjamin want to join us?”

  “I think it’s best if you go by yourself. Benjamin and I will only get in the way. You two won’t get to know each other if someone else is around all the time.”

  “We didn’t get to know each other when we were alone before.”

  To be fair, neither one had been interested in getting to know the other. They’d been too busy arguing. She let out an uneasy breath. Was it even possible that they could get along for longer than two dances?

  “I wish my brother had just let me remain unmarried,” Kitty said in a soft voice.

  “At least you don’t have to associate with him anymore,” Emilia said.

  “Yes, that’s true.” So far, it was the only good thing about being married. Her brother hadn’t bothered her once in all the time she’d been Aaron’s wife. “It’s sad that I don’t even miss him.”

  “I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I imagine if I did, I wouldn’t miss one if they were anything like your brother. I barely knew him, and I always looked forward to the moment when he would leave.”

  Kitty giggled. “Yes, watching him leave made for some of the happiest moments of my life.”

  Emilia laughed along with her. “I know it’s a cruel thing to say, but there’s no denying it’s true.”

  “If it hadn’t been for you and Lilly, I might not have kept my sanity.”

  “Should things not get resolved to your satisfaction with Aaron, Lilly and I will still be here for you.”

  Kitty smiled. “I appreciate that.” It was nice to have two people in this world she could depend on regardless of what happened.

  Kitty took a deep breath and released it. No matter how hard she tried, her stomach kept twisting up into knots. When she agreed to take a walk with Aaron today, she had no idea this morning would be spent in such anxiety. She didn’t know what to expect, and that uncertainty made her wonder if she was doing the right thing.

  There’s nothing to it, Kitty. If things don’t go well, you never have to see him again. You’re not bound to him anymore. You have your dowry. You can get your own townhouse if you wish. You never have to go live with him again if you don’t want to.

  The reminder helped to settle her nerves. She was under no obligation to live with Aaron again. She had a choice in the matter this time. Regardless of what happened, she had control over her future. And she would choose the option that was best for her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Aaron had never been to Benjamin’s residence before. The gentleman lived in a wealthier section of London than he did. The realization came as a surprise. No one would think Benjamin had so much money. Benjamin wasn’t given to excessive spending, and he never mentioned expensive pursuits. Aaron assumed Benjamin managed as well as he did, and Aaron managed just fine.

  The footman led Aaron down the hall. Aaron heard a familiar voice coming from the drawing room, but it wasn’t until he saw Mr. Stonewall talking to Benjamin that he realized his ears hadn’t been deceiving him. The person Kitty had hired to chaperone him knew Benjamin. He stood in shock in the doorway as the footman introduced them.

  When the footman left, Mr. Stonewall laughed and headed over to him. “I’m not here to chaperone you as you and your wife take a stroll through the park. There’s no need to panic.”

  Aaron hadn’t assumed that Mr. Stonewall was here because of that. He and Kitty had agreed that they wouldn’t be chaperoned anymore. But he couldn’t find the words to say this.

  Benjamin joined them and studied Aaron. “Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen an apparition.”

  “He didn’t expect to see me here,” Mr. Stonewall told him. “This is the gentleman I’ve been chaperoning.”

  Benjamin’s eyes grew wide. “You’ve been chaperoning Kitty’s husband?”

  “I didn’t think I was at liberty to give away the gentleman’s identity while under her employment, but,” Mr. Stonewall turned his gaze back to Aaron, “she wrote to me this morning to let me know my services were no longer required. Since I don’t have to be at home in case she needs me to return to work, I decided to see my nephew.”

  “Your nephew?” Aaron blurted out. With a glance at Benjamin, he asked, “He’s your uncle?”

  “Yes,” Benjamin replied.

  “But, but,” Aaron glanced between the two. “I don’t understand.”

  “He was my mother’s brother,” Benjamin replied. “That makes him my uncle.”

  Mr. Stonewall chuckled. “Maybe I can help. Kitty is friends with Emilia. Emilia is Benjamin’s wife. When I heard that Kitty was looking for someone to be your chaperone, I offered my services.”

  “Did Miss Britcher know you were his uncle?” Aaron asked as he gestured to Benjamin.

  “Yes, she was here when the agreement was made.”

  “Why didn’t Miss Britcher tell me who you were?”

  Mr. Stonewall shrugged. “I didn’t think to ask her about it. Regardless, we finally came to the agreement that chaperoning you two wasn’t making matters better. So we returned to our respective homes in order to give you and your wife time alone.”
/>
  “You two agreed…?” Aaron took a moment to gather his thoughts then said, “Does that mean Miss Britcher doesn’t have a nephew?”

  “No, she has a nephew, but he’s doing fine. She felt it was best if we forced you two to be together, and the only way to do that was by temporarily suspending our services. After some thought, I agreed with her. That’s why she made up the story about her nephew needing her.”

  “What made you think we would get along if we were forced to be together?”

  Mr. Stonewall gave him a pointed look. “You’re not here to see me, are you?”

  Taken off guard by the question, Aaron blinked a couple of times.

  “I’ll answer for him,” Benjamin said. “He’s here to see Kitty.”

  “It looks like Miss Britcher was right then, doesn’t it?” Mr. Stonewall asked Aaron.

  “That doesn’t mean we’re getting along,” Aaron replied.

  “So, you came to argue with her?” Mr. Stonewall pressed.

  “No, I didn’t come here to argue with her. I have better things to do with my time than make a trip all the way to this residence to fight with someone,” Aaron said.

  “Then how is it you’re not getting along with her?” he asked.

  Aaron let out a frustrated sigh. “You enjoy making things difficult for me. It’s why you refused to let me pay you to stop being my chaperone.”

  Benjamin laughed. “My uncle doesn’t need money. He has even more than I do, and I manage very well.” He glanced at Mr. Stonewall. “Did Kitty really pay you?”

  “I had to accept payment or else the poor thing wouldn’t have felt right about it,” Mr. Stonewall replied. “She’s really quite admirable. But,” he turned his gaze to Aaron, “no, I didn’t take the job because I needed any money. I did it because you were being unreasonable.”

  Aaron glanced from Mr. Stonewall to Benjamin, wondering how much Benjamin knew about the situation, but Benjamin had the look of someone who was oblivious to the details.

  Mr. Stonewall’s attention went behind Aaron, so Aaron turned and saw Kitty. Despite the shaky relationship he shared with her, Aaron had to admit that she was a lovely sight. The red gown she wore brought a nice rosy color to her cheeks that he hadn’t noticed before.

  “I’m afraid our secret is out,” Mr. Stonewall told her. “Lord Northton knows I’m the uncle of your friend’s husband.”

  Kitty looked at Aaron, eyebrows raised. “Does that upset you?”

  “No,” Aaron replied, surprised she should ask the question. “All things considered, it’s the only thing that makes sense. I couldn’t understand why any gentleman would agree to let you hire him in order to chaperone me. It’s not gentlemen who require chaperones.”

  “They do if they’re being unnecessarily demanding,” she said.

  Aaron thought he saw a spark of amusement on Mr. Stonewall’s face, but he decided to ignore it. Given everything he’d put her through, he deserved that remark. “You’re right. If a husband insists his wife have a chaperone, then he deserves one as well.”

  Not hiding her surprise, she said, “I didn’t expect you to agree with me.”

  “I realize I’ve been difficult,” Aaron replied.

  He didn’t feel like explaining why in front of the two gentlemen. Besides, considering the fact that he’d already told her about his mother, he didn’t feel like going into all of that again. What he most wanted to do was forget about his mother. It was enough she had tarnished his view of ladies. He didn’t need to give her his time or attention when he was trying to make amends with his wife.

  “Lord Northton has some redeeming qualities,” Mr. Stonewall spoke up. “I doubt you’ll have any trouble with him. In the meantime, my nephew and I have somewhere to go.”

  Kitty waited until the two left before she directed her gaze back to Aaron. “Would you like to have some tea before we go for a walk, or would you like to leave now?”

  “I’d like to leave now.”

  While he was sure none of the servants would interrupt their conversation, her friend might still be in the townhouse. He most wanted to talk to Kitty without anyone else around. There was a lot they had to work through. He supposed in one sense, he would be her suitor until they came to a decision as to whether they would live in the same townhouse or go their separate ways.

  Kitty offered a nod, and he escorted her out of the townhouse.

  ***

  A few minutes later, Kitty and Aaron were near Hyde Park. They hadn’t said anything when they left the townhouse, and she was beginning to feel anxious about it.

  After another minute, she said the only thing that came to mind. “I notice you didn’t bring your carriage. Or at least, you didn’t make the coachman stay around and wait for you.”

  “I didn’t take my carriage,” he replied. “I thought I’d walk over here. It’s a pleasant day. I don’t always take a carriage.”

  “My brother takes his carriage everywhere regardless of how far he needs to go. He likes everyone to see how expensive his carriage is.”

  He grimaced. “I’d rather not think of your brother, if you don’t mind. I want this to be a nice afternoon.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up something that unpleasant. It just slipped out.”

  “I’m glad to hear that some people can be as bad as I am.”

  “You’re not as bad as he is.”

  Surprised, he dared a look at her. “I’m not?”

  “No. He would never apologize for anything, and he wouldn’t try to work things out. The only person he cares about is himself. Thankfully, I haven’t had the misfortune of seeing him since our wedding day.”

  “London is a big place. Even if we did happen to see him while on our walk, we can always find a path to turn down so we don’t have to talk to him,” he said.

  “I suppose that’s one benefit of marriage. I’m not forced to talk to him if I don’t want to. I always thought I’d have to wait until I was twenty-one before I could be free of him. My original plan was to remain unmarried, but I was going to be on my own.”

  “I had wished that, too, except there was the whole matter of the title that would have eventually forced me to marry.”

  “I didn’t think of it as a burden, but it sounds like having a title can come with its difficulties.”

  “It does come with some difficulties. I used to envy Roger. He has no title. If he had wanted to remain unmarried, he was free to do so without risking passing on his title to a relative who would ruin the estate. If I had been in his position, I never would have married at all. Though, to be fair, neither of us planned for this marriage. It was forced upon us.”

  “Yes, life seems to have a sense of irony to it. Imagine two people who didn’t want to marry ending up having to marry each other.”

  He chuckled. “It is funny when you think about it.” They crossed the street, and when they reached the other sidewalk, he continued, “What is it about marriage you don’t like?”

  “I was afraid my husband would try to control me like my brother did.”

  His cheeks grew pink, and she detected that he sincerely felt sorry for the restrictions he had put on her. What he said next only confirmed that thought.

  “I’d like to say that your fear was unfounded,” he said, “but as we both know, it wasn’t.”

  “Do you still believe me to be the type of lady who shares dalliances with gentlemen I’m not married to?”

  “No. I know better now.”

  “Was it because Miss Britcher told you that I wasn’t expecting a child?” she softly asked so no one overheard. Yes, she knew the question was a personal one, but she was afraid if she didn’t ask it while it was on her mind, she might forget it.

  “Well, there was that, but there were other things.”

  “What other things?”

  He glanced around them, and since there was no one nearby, he said, “If you had shared dalliances with gentlemen you would have realized what t
houghts went through my mind when we were in your bedchamber.”

  She frowned. “I don’t understand. In addition to making sure no one was in my bed, I assumed you wanted to sleep. You looked as if you were going to collapse from exhaustion.”

  “I don’t want to explain it. It’s apparent you don’t have the faintest idea what a gentleman thinks when a lady isn’t fully clothed.” Then he shrugged and added, “Or when he’s alone in a bedchamber with her.”

  No, she didn’t. The topic was causing him a significant amount of embarrassment since his face was growing redder as he kept talking. She didn’t wish to make him more uncomfortable, so she decided to let the matter go. It was enough to know that, for whatever reason, he had finally come to the conclusion that she was a virgin and that he had no need to have her chaperoned. That, in itself, was a big accomplishment. And really, it was all she needed to feel better about everything.

  They walked along in silence for a while, and she finally asked, “Does it bother you that we’re so quiet?”

  He blinked in surprise. “No. I assumed we were taking time to enjoy the park.”

  “Some people feel the need to talk all the time. They don’t like awkward moments of silence. They think the other person must be bored if no one is talking.”

  “I wasn’t bored. To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking of anything in particular. I was just…” He shrugged. “Enjoying the walk. I don’t walk for pleasure often.”

  “Is there too much going on?”

  “No. I’m not as busy as some gentlemen, but my leisure time tends to be spent playing chess or reading a book.” He gave her a wry grin. “Maybe I don’t get bored with long periods of silence because I lead a boring life.”

  She returned his smile. “There’s nothing wrong with playing games or reading. I love cards, but I love books even more. You have a lot of them. Miss Britcher and I took a few to read to her nephew. He loves it when people read to him. I thought it’d be nice to read new stories to him.”